is it possible to have a finished beer and kegged in 20days?

wps-hbt
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I would say yes after looking at a couple of edworts recipes. Someone prove me wronge. It also depends on what type of beer your brewing. For a light ale/kolsch I'd say yes. For some dark ISH id say NO. it might taste a little young and would probably taste better if you let it cold condition...but i have made a killer amber in 2 weeks from carboy to keg.

Your best bet is not to rush things and let the yeast to its work...Hydro readings are heavenly.
 
yeah im trying to get it done By Thanksgiving so thats the reason im in the rush mode i usually am NEVER rushing anything but i been very busy with work covering shifts for other people at my work. I was thinking a of doing a wheat beer but if a light ale would be in the ball park i would like that much more..... Possibly a Light Smash beer around 25 IBUS using cascade? pretty basic maybe like 8LBs PALE MALT and CASCADE with more emphasis on Aroma for the illusion of bitterness and fermented with US-05 fermentis......I been drinking a bit much right now i just got off work so my apology for the possibility of incorrectness thank god for spell check
 
true that. I also had a late night at work and am also under the influence of some heavy beers. I don't see an issue if you just primary then keg. As long as you can get it carb'd up and fermentation is complete I don't see a problem...In the worst case it isn't ready by the time you need, at least you tried and you have 5 gallons to enjoy for christmas.

I did a Pumpkin ale that was rushed and I didnt feel like it was up to par, we went and bought a keg and just waited to enjoy a beer worth drinking.

I say go for it, whats the worst that can happen!
 
Most of my beer's go into the keg after a 3 week primary. You can force carb and get it pretty close to optimal co2 volumes in a couple of days.

A wheat or any lower gravity pale will work fine in that time frame.

A few things are critical...

A healthy yeast pitch at or slightly below optimal ferment temps.
Controlled ferment temps.
Warm it up a little after the initial fermentation is nearing the end.
Cold crash for 48 hours before you rack to the keg.
And, a very gentle transfer without picking up any trub.

No problem.:mug:

Good luck,

Bull
 
I think most ales could be ready to drink in 10 days. The key is good fermentation. The key to fermentation is pitching the proper amount of healthy yeast, oxygenating your wort and controlling temps. If you do all that fermentation for an ale yeast will take 5-10 days. Some strains can finish in 3 days, some less floculant strains may need more like 14 days to clear. But as soon as it's clear you can keg, carb and drink. Lower gravity beers may taste slightly better with an extra few weeks in the keg but will be fully drinkable straight away. Stronger beers may get better with a few months of aging to let the alcohols mellow.

I make IPA's all the time in the 6-7% range and drink them with little to no aging. The hop flavors are so much more vibrant when fresh. Nothing beats a fresh hoppy IPA.
 
Yes... I do it all the time For my friends... it will taste young, doesnt mean it taste bad... when its done fermenting rack it carefully Keg it Force carbonate Boom Beer
 
For my last pale ale from the BCS book I fermented for 14 days and slow carbonated in my keezer at 10psi. I took daily samples and for a while I was very mad at myself for not letting go 3 weeks in the primary. But after a week it started to change and I think it's quite nice now. I will probably try to stick with 3 weeks in primary but I think 2 would work for something that doesn't require a long fermentation.

I'm no expert but you might help speed things along if you rack to secondary after a week. I think it might have helped clarify the beer in my case. My pale seems more cloudy than usual and I surmise that racking to secondary would have helped.
 
pretzelb said:
For my last pale ale from the BCS book I fermented for 14 days and slow carbonated in my keezer at 10psi. I took daily samples and for a while I was very mad at myself for not letting go 3 weeks in the primary. But after a week it started to change and I think it's quite nice now. I will probably try to stick with 3 weeks in primary but I think 2 would work for something that doesn't require a long fermentation.
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Carbonation is a major factor in beer taste. Could be that your beer was great after 2 weeks and the "change" you noticed was due to carbonation slowly increasing.


pretzelb said:
I'm no expert but you might help speed things along if you rack to secondary after a week. I think it might have helped clarify the beer in my case. My pale seems more cloudy than usual and I surmise that racking to secondary would have helped.
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I would not recommend using a secondary. And if you do use a secondary DO NOT remove the beer from the primary until fermentation is complete. Haze is a minor flaw compared to what you get from an interrupted ferment. If your having problems with haze look at fining, filtering and/or simply be more careful when siphoning.
 
My last wheat beer was in the primary for 1 week and in the secondary for another week with some coriander. Then sat in a keg for 2 days to carbonate. 16 days total. Tasted real fresh but good. Unless you have a ton of spices that need to mellow out or a heavy brew, then you don't need to age it very long.

Make sure you use a yeast starter though, it might shave a few days off your primary fermentation.
 
+1 to the recommendation to read this thread I have made several beers following that information, ready and fantastic in very short order. mostly lower gravity APAs and English milds, and obviously hefes. The biggest improvement for me was to pitch a lot of yeast, my hefes no longer have that sulfur smell early on. My thought is that a lot of off-flavors in beer come from the yeast, be it from stress from underpitching, or too high or too low fermentation temps, if you pitch plenty of yeast and lock the ferm temp down, you dont give the yeast a reason to put out off-flavors, you really have nothing that needs to age out.
 
I'm finishing up a keg of APA that I brewed on 10/7. I wish I would have made 10 gallons!

You can definitely have a beer ready in a couple of weeks, as the others said. You have to pitch the appropriate amount of yeast, use a flocculant yeast strain (like S04), not have the OG too high, don't make the grainbill too complex (big roasty flavors need time to mellow), and stay away from "harsh" hops varieties.

This leaves oatmeal stout, mild, bitter, APA, IPA, wheat beers, ambers, English pale ales, etc. Some beers are better with a bit of age, but a SNPA clone is ready quickly so that's what I'm drinking right now.
 
Thanks for the encouragement i know rushing things is never the brewers way good thing i started my big Christmas belgian awhile ago I just placed my Grain order from my local Brewery for a Smash Brew and i will Report Back when The missions complete :mug:
 
I've gone kettle to glass in 8 days, not optimal and got better with age but you can do it. Oxygenate and pitch lots of yeast, I find Safale-04 is a really fast working yeast that is perfect for this type of situation.
 
20 day old beer will be green no matter what style you go with. Will it be drinkable...yes. will it tastes it's peaks best... not even close.
wheats, ordinary bitters are beers that are drinkable young. three weeks is cutting it close
 
what is the reccomended time you wait before trying a beer? the first batch i made has been in bottles for almost 3 weeks. i tried one at the 1 week mark and 1 at the 2 week mark. both times it was drinkable but still not up to my standards
 
sportscrazed2 said:
what is the reccomended time you wait before trying a beer? the first batch i made has been in bottles for almost 3 weeks. i tried one at the 1 week mark and 1 at the 2 week mark. both times it was drinkable but still not up to my standards
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it may never be up to your standards :p but it goes that way sometimes ;)

Bottle conditioning is much different then kegging. With bottles you need to wait for natural carbonation. It depends on the temp and how much viable yeast is in solution. 2-3 weeks at 70F is a good standard for bottle carbonation. With a keg you have much more control over how much time it takes to carbonate. It's possible to carb a keg in under 24 hours so you could go grain to glass in less then 10 days.
 
Definably depends on the style of beer. Wheats Heck yea. Lots of yeast and it will get better in the keg as its in there
 
Do a nice simple Pale Ale or SMASH.

Something like 8 lbs of 2-row, 14oz of Crystal 40 and lots of cascade hops. Use a packet of US-05, and you'll pitch plenty of yeast. Re-hydrate first, and it will take off like gangbusters. Ferment for 10 days, Dry hop from day 10 to day 17 Then cold crash, add gelatin,Force carb @ 30 psi, then back down to serving pressure for the last 3 days.

You should have a nice hoppy Pale Ale by Thanksgiving.
 
iaefebs said:
Hmmmmm 51 day's till Christmas. I better get started on those beers soon.
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Oh hell you're telling me. I just got guilted into brewing up a 5 gallon batch for Christmas. She dropped the guilt trip on me at noon or so, and as soon as I got off of work I went to the brewshop. She better appreciate me dammit.
 
sportscrazed2 said:
what is the reccomended time you wait before trying a beer? the first batch i made has been in bottles for almost 3 weeks. i tried one at the 1 week mark and 1 at the 2 week mark. both times it was drinkable but still not up to my standards
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Bottle carbing is fiddly, and it also depends on the beer type. I find that swirling the yeast up once a week or so helps somewhat (or just gives me something to do to pass the time). Don't keep it in a cold place (70 is a good temperature goal), and relax.

My nut brown ale really doesn't hit it's stride until it's a month or two in the bottle. I've made it maybe half a dozen times and each time at 2-3 weeks I pop one, drink it, and sigh, because it's too buttery/butterscotchy. I throw it in the closet and forget about it for 2 months, come back, and it's *perfect*. This is after like 3 weeks in the fermentor to bulk age.

I've kind of come to accept that particular beer tastes buttery when young. However, it's far and away my most popular beer. I probably would need to brew hundreds of gallons a year of it to keep everyone who liked it in it.

That being said, I believe the hause pale that Ed has up somewhere here was ready to go in like 2 weeks.
 
TheFlatline said:
I've kind of come to accept that particular beer tastes buttery when young. However, it's far and away my most popular beer. I probably would need to brew hundreds of gallons a year of it to keep everyone who liked it in it.
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Do you use pilsner in that recipe? Sounds like diacetyl. http://www.homebrewzone.com/diacetyl.htm
It would help if you did a 90 minute boil and make sure you don't use a lid.


So I know you already bought your ingredients, but FWIW Orfy's Mild Mannered is AMAZING in 20 days. I rushed this for an extra keg for my friend's 30th and the keg was floating in under an hour and everyone was bummed I didn't make more. Its a great session beer and great malt flavor.
 
CatHouse Saison -3711 yeast>

SG1.056
34ibu
10 days primary - FG was done in 5 days 1.056 > 1.004
10 days secondary to dry hop

keg was gone in 5 days, 3 were carbing so thats means 2 days of drinking.

Fermented at 72f.
 
I would be willing to bet the BM's Centennial Blonde would be ready pretty close to that timeframe. Hell, it may even be drinkable (carbed/chilled) in 20 days.

John
 
maida7 said:
it may never be up to your standards :p but it goes that way sometimes ;)

Bottle conditioning is much different then kegging. With bottles you need to wait for natural carbonation. It depends on the temp and how much viable yeast is in solution. 2-3 weeks at 70F is a good standard for bottle carbonation. With a keg you have much more control over how much time it takes to carbonate. It's possible to carb a keg in under 24 hours so you could go grain to glass in less then 10 days.
Click to expand...

The fact that you can get CO2 into beer in a keg quicker doesn't make that beer any less green. Part of the bottle conditioning process is the acid from the CO2 reacting with things. The same thing takes time in a keg too.
 
Synovia said:
The fact that you can get CO2 into beer in a keg quicker doesn't make that beer any less green. Part of the bottle conditioning process is the acid from the CO2 reacting with things. The same thing takes time in a keg too.
Click to expand...

+1 very well put
 
Funny I remembered this posts...I just killed the amber and my B-day is exactly 20 days from now. The plan is to brew up 10 gallons tomorrow and hope for the best. I might just do a 2 week primary and keg for 6 days.
 
I'm brewing Hefe's and IPA's because I like them, and there easy, mostly 1.055 or less SG. I use Nottingham, it works well for me, seems to start right at the 24 hr mark from pitching, and bubbles for about 3 days. I cold crash in the fermenting bucket at day 7-10 , then keg and filter. I have noticed at least for me, at about day 10 of carbing, is when its drinkable, and gets better every day after that

I recently started experimenting with Columbus for Bittering,and Centennial for taste and Aroma. Makes a verry hoppy Ale, but be careful with the Columbus. :mug:
 

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